Walk on By
by azerath.metrion
Summary: Songfic. Walk on By, by Cake. How Nobu deals with life after Hachi... SPOILERS!


_**Walk on By**_

Songfic Oneshot

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with the owners of, Nana, and the song _Walk on By_ belongs to Cake.

**Quick Author's Note: This songfic takes place just after Hachi chooses Takumi, before she moves in with Takumi.**

_Walk on by,_

_The house where you still live,_

_Walk on by,_

_The place where we would kiss,_

_And the room where,_

_I held you tight,_

_Tonight,_

_I must walk on by,_

Nobu sighed, his shoulders slumping as he gazed at the ground. Here he was again, another night in a seemingly infinite number of them, trudging past Nana's apartment building. He had three bottles of sake in a bag, but he knew he probably wouldn't even be able to work up the care to drink them, and he'd end up giving them to Shin. Again.

_Yeah, walk on by,_

_The room where you still sleep,_

_Walk on by,_

_The company that you keep,_

_And the room where,_

_I held you tight,_

_Tonight,_

_I must walk on by,_

Nobu paused in his tracks, looking up at the old building to his right. There was a light in all three windows of Nana's apartment, and he could see three shadows against them. As two of the lights turned out, Nobu's stomach churned; the light left on was Hachi's, and now two of the shadows had moved into that room. When that light went off as well, Nobu turned and continued on his way, feeling as though he was going to be violently sick.

_Yeah, somehow, I know,_

_No, I won't forget you,_

_No, no, no, no, no,_

_I won't,_

_You won't forget me,_

_No, no, no, no, no, no,_

Memories of his time with Hachi flashed through Nobu's mind, a bittersweet reminder of what he had felt back then. An ironic smile graced his lips, remembering the feel of little Hachi in his arms, her smile as she gazed at him. He wondered briefly if she had thought of their love, as well, but brusquely shoved the thought aside; it was too painful. He knew that the answer couldn't bring him happiness; it would either mean that she was in as much pain as he, or she had never truly meant any of it.

_I'll keep on walking,_

_Away from here,_

_I'll forget you when I reach,_

_The other side,_

Nobu dropped the bag of sake into Shin's arms as he entered the tiny apartment, ignoring Shin's sad gaze. Slowly he meandered over to the couch, flopping onto it face-first, his hands still in his pockets. Silently, Shin stood, taking the sake into the kitchen and putting it into the refrigerator with the other bottles that Nobu never managed to drink- all twelve of them. Then he gathered his things and left; he hated to see Nobu like this. Nobu heard the door close and rolled over onto his back to gaze at the ceiling. He glanced over at the coffee table, where a carving knife sat on a plate of cold turkey, leftovers from a meal Hachi herself had made Nobu and Shin a week ago. Absentimindedly he reached over, taking the smooth handle in his hand and holding it, gazing at the blade. Slowly he moved the point down to his stomach, wondering if Hachi's memory would haunt him into the afterlife.

_Walk on by,_

_The house where you still live,_

_Walk on by,_

_The place where we would kiss,_

Nobu dropped the knife back onto the plate with a clatter, sitting up abruptly. He clutched his head, feeling a rush of the tell-tale tinglings in his eyes and nose. When the tears came, they were more violent than before, but he hardly cared. Sobs overtook his body, making him shake uncontrollably and his muscles ache. He bore the pain of his heartache and his hot, quaking tears, for about an hour. By this time his body felt dehydrated and heavy, his head fuzzy and achey. He fell back onto the couch, not even caring enough to wipe the tears from his eyes.

_And the room where,_

_I held you tight,_

_Tonight,_

_I must walk on by,_

Shin came back in at about eight in the morning, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He had stayed up talking to Reira until three in the morning before going with her to bed, and he hadn't gotten much sleep then, either. He noticed Nobu on the couch, snoring deeply and covered in evaporated tears. With a small sigh, he got a damp washcloth from the bathroom and went over to wipe Nobu's face. Shin noticed the mess of turkey and the carving knife haphazardly thrown on the table, and for a moment simply stared at it, then glanced at Nobu. Softly, he touched his friend's face, sad even in his sleep, then took the washcloth and dishes into the kitchen. When he returned, Nobu was sitting up, gazing forlornly at where the carving knife had been mere minutes before.

"Shin," he whispered, not even looking up, "How can she not miss me? I love Hachi, Shin... I would have cared for the baby as much as I care for her, and she knew that... But... Takumi..." Nobu's voice broke and he swallowed, trying to hold back the tears. Shin was speechless. For a few minutes the two men stood there, staring at the floor; but then Nobu stood up, going to get dressed for the coming day, all the while convincing himself that he could walk past that apartment building at least once more.

_And the room where,_

_I held you tight,_

_Tonight,_

_I must walk on by..._

* * *

Thank you for reading! This is my first songfic, so please be gentle in that respect ' . Also, I know this has a lot of Nobu/Hachi stuff in it, but one of the main points I wanted to look at was how Nobu and Shin reacted together at this time. That said, I am NOT a Nobu/Shin shipper, and if I was, it's none of your business, so don't flame me for that, please. They're friends, yeah?

Also, Cake rocks. Hard.


End file.
